26 Shades of Love
by Coka Cookie Cola
Summary: (A/U) Akiza's clever, but certainly innocent, 6 year old daughter is desperate enough to play matchmaker for her mother. What better boyfriend could her mommy need than their new friendly neighbour Yusei Fudo?
1. Ari

**I don't know why I'm starting this story when I have five others to finish, lol! But I'm really stoked about this one, so I hope you enjoy it!**

**26 Shades of Love**

**Chapter 1: Ari**

"Mommy! Mommy! Wake up! You said I have to be up early for school!"

Said mother, named Akiza Izinski, moaned quietly against her soft, fluffy pillow. Her mahogany eyes were barely adjusting to the bedroom light that her precious little girl had just switched on. Akiza took one look around the room, before her gaze settled toward her six year old bundle of joy – who was staring at her and she did look a little impatient with her.

Akiza sighed heavily, but she put on a smile nonetheless. Her daughter was her most prized treasure in the whole world, but there were times when she could be a handful. Yes, she could certainly act like a brat; if Akiza remembered correctly, she had gone through that stage too. But overall, Ari was a sweetheart; she could melt anyone's heart with her beautiful smile, her dazzling eyes (that she had received from her) and her cute dimples. In other words, she was pretty much her clone and nothing like her father…

"You're right. I didn't even have to wake you up this time," Akiza chuckled, running her fingers through Ari's magenta hair, before she decided to stretch her limbs.

"It's almost 8, Mommy," Ari replied firmly, placing her hands on her hips, appearing to be intimidating; but it was hard for Akiza to really take her seriously when she was wearing her leopard onesie.

"And you should be getting dressed," Akiza teased, stifling back a yawn.

It was hard enough juggling a weekend job AND a weekday job; but it was all the more worth it to support her daughter. If things had turned out differently, maybe Akiza would have taken the opportunity. But she did have her parents to help her out occasionally and that was something that she'd always appreciate.

"Why can't I go to school in this?" Ari pouted.

"Because the teacher would just send you straight home to change."

It was the same question that Ari asked her every morning, and as much as Akiza enjoyed the little banter between them, she had to draw the end of the line somewhere. "I'll make you some French toast, how about that?"

Ari's pout miraculously vanished, much to Akiza's amusement. But at least she was glad she wouldn't have to deal with a sad child this morning before she went to work. "You're the best, Mommy!"

And just like that, Akiza's heart skipped a beat, hearing those words coming from her only baby.

**:3 :3 :3**

In this blasted October weather, there wasn't much to look forward to in Akiza's opinion. But she wouldn't dare complain about it; she knew that she'd have to deal with the chill in the air, just as her daughter had done.

"Mommy, can Tai come over here to play after school?" Akiza looked up, gazing in the direction of her child's voice. She pursed her lips, as she drifted into deep thought. Tai was Ari's best friend and she loved seeing the two of them together; there were times when Akiza had joked around with Ari that the two of them were going to get married one day, and Ari's reaction? She merely wrinkled her face in disgust and told her off: "Yuck." That reaction was so cute, Akiza couldn't help but chuckle. But Akiza would not be surprised if that actually happened twenty years from now.

"As long as his mommy says it's okay," Akiza answered, before she kissed her loving daughter on the head. She took her daughter's empty plate, as well as her own, and put them in the sink.

It's been six years since Akiza had brought her baby into this world; she wouldn't trade her for anything, even if the 'father' happened to be a complete… jerk (for lack of a better term) for running out on her. In the beginning, as she raised her, Akiza did find it extremely difficult to do it alone; after all, when she had Ari, she was only twenty. Luckily, her parents managed to support her every step of the way, but they were wise enough to not do all the work for Akiza.

"Mommy, who's that guy over there?" Ari inquired, her tone of voice full of curiosity and innocence. Akiza would have taught her to never point at anyone, but for some reason, she was compelled not to. Instead, she walked back toward the dining room, looking outside of the large window that overlooked part of the neighbourhood.

"Looks like a new neighbour," Akiza remarked, her eyes never straying from the 'guy' that her daughter pointed to.

He appeared to be around the same age as her, she observed, and not only that, but handsome; with raven hair that spiked upwards, bronze skin and… really beautiful blue eyes, this guy could pretty much be the epitome of a dream hubby. Of course Akiza could tell all of this from several hundred feet away, she wasn't blind yet, because she would take extra notice of her surroundings.

Akiza was a little content with watching this man carrying some boxes into his garage and maybe her eyes were straying on his figure the whole time…

And then he had to turn his head around to meet her penetrable gaze, and boy, did she ever feel flustered and embarrassed that he caught her ogling him. But would anyone blame Akiza for doing so? She had not ogled any man for a few years now and that was only because raising a child was her top priority.

Would she even have the time to start dating now? That was the question…

"Mommy? Are you okay?" Ari sure was observant herself, which was yet another trait that she had picked up from her mother. Of course, Akiza had to be careful with her emotions; she didn't want her heart broken into more pieces, much less letting her Ari experience the same thing. She knew that Ari worried about her sometimes: it was something that Akiza regretted with all of her might.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you get dressed?" Akiza cleared her throat, deciding to take her mind off of the blue-eyed man. She had much bigger problems than idolizing someone who had just moved next door.

"Can I wear my leopard tutu?" The puppy eyes were getting old, Akiza rationalized, but how could she turn down Ari's request? Thing was, if she was acting bratty about it, Akiza definitely would have said no. Being nice about things really made a difference in where someone wanted to go in life.

"Alright. But if you ruin it, I am not going to buy you another one." After all, Ari did have two other tutus in her wardrobe, but the leopard one was without a doubt her favourite piece of clothing she had owned. Akiza was also glad that she had a remarkable sense of fashion for her age.

"I promise," Ari nodded before she dashed off to her room, leaving Akiza alone.

Akiza sighed, not for the first time, as she felt an impending headache. But she managed to ignore it all the same, as she took one final peek out the window; one part of her was hoping for a glance to see her new neighbour again… why couldn't her heart stop fluttering?

_That's it, that's it, that's it! _Akiza told herself; she couldn't afford to get herself into another relationship. She just… couldn't be ready to love again. Not after what happened six years ago…

Family was more important than anything else, and she was going to stick to her motto – regardless of what anyone else thought.

**:3 :3 :3**

**Well, there's my pilot chapter for you guys. Lol. **

**The next chapter might be longer, but I haven't decided. ;) So would you pretty please leave a review? I'd love to know what you think!**


	2. Borrow

**I'm so glad that you guys like this story! I feel so happy! LOL! :D **

**26 Shades of Love**

**Chapter 2: Borrow**

It turned out that Akiza's wish came true, much to her personal chagrin, but there was a small part of her that was pleased: pleased to meet her new neighbour for the first time (but really, one would think she would use that as an excuse). But it was only after she had gotten dressed, wearing her usual white blouse, black skirt, tights and high heels, that Akiza had realized that the doorbell had rung.

Akiza groaned, as she finished brushing her dark rouge hair; this morning was just another one of those days where everything would just fall apart in moments before she would take the time to fix everything up. The time was just going by too fast; Ari's current existence was proof of that.

"Don't worry Mommy, I'll get it!" Akiza couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's tendency to prove how proactive she was; she'd always want to make her only parent proud of her, as she was brave, courageous and fiercely intelligent for a little girl her age. Akiza would never hesitate to tell her how happy she was to have someone like her in her life.

Akiza checked herself out in her mirror, noting how pale her complexion was this morning and how tired she was. But nothing like a little concealer could save her life at that moment. But physical beauty was the price to pay to raising a precious six year old; half the time, Akiza wouldn't even care how she looked.

Satisfied with the end result, she quickly grabbed her red fall coat and her matching purse, which contained all the essentials, and power-walked out to the living room. "Ari, are you ready?" She called out.

"Mommy, I still have to brush my hair." Akiza sighed, shaking her head; sometimes, she really didn't know what to do with her. "Mommy? Do we have a screwdriver? The man at the door said he needs one."

Man at the door… could she possibly be talking about the new guy from across the street? Of course he wasn't just a guy, he was a man… Akiza could feel her cheeks turning red, and much to her disbelief, she couldn't stop flushing; it was unbelievable, to be thinking of him at a time like this! She had to stop acting like a teenage girl. It was something she often told herself when she needed reassurance, or rather, a good talk to when things went bad.

She had come a long way since six years ago.

"Yes, sweetie. Now hurry up and brush your hair. We have to be out of here in three minutes."

Another nice thing about Ari was that she was generally obedient. Sometimes, Akiza liked to think she had a clone instead of having a child, but she knew what the truth really was.

**:3 :3 :3**

It looked like she was going to have to call in late for work today, much to Akiza's frustration. But she knew that she woke up really late this morning, so it wasn't as if she could blame anyone else for her mistakes.

There was so much that Akiza had to get done, it wasn't even funny. Work was just one of those things that seemed to take over her life. That was the thing about having to stay a single mom: juggling both parenthood and work was something that few people could do without tearing their eyes out of their sockets. At least, it would be impossible to think that way unless you're really into multi-tasking.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Akiza brushed several stray hairs from her face, as she headed toward the door – where her unexpected guest was waiting ever so patiently.

"No, no, it's uh… fine."

When Akiza got to her set destination, her heart nearly stopped beating. 'Nearly' being the operative word. She would have blushed at that time, but for some reason, she wasn't feeling quite so embarrassed about ogling this man.

This man happened to be more handsome than she could ever hope to imagine; gosh, would you just look at his azure eyes… and his tanned skin, his dark jeans that most likely made his butt look good if she so happened to take a look… Oh boy; now she was having some dirty thoughts. But who wouldn't be distracted by this guy? He pretty much made the classic tank top, which he was wearing right at this moment, get back into fashion. It also helped it wasn't white; it was more of a greyish-black shade and it happened to bring out the mystery in his eyes…

"I'm… I'm Yusei Fudo," the man introduced himself, his blue eyes flickering toward the ground and back up to Akiza's eyes; was it just her, or was he gazing at her too? Wouldn't it be amazing if he thought she was the slightest bit pretty? Okay, maybe she shouldn't read too much into this. Maybe he hadn't been around girls that much.

"I'm Akiza Izinski. Nice to meet you." They shook hands in an orderly fashion, but once again, Akiza couldn't help but think some more naughty thoughts. She seriously had to get a grip on herself.

"I take it the little bundle of energy who answered the door was your daughter?" Yusei grinned, his eyes shining with amusement. Considering that she was wearing her tutu, Akiza wouldn't be surprised if Yusei thought the sight was too cute.

Akiza giggled sheepishly. "Yeah. She's my pride and joy." _And the only one who never left me. _Not that she'd ever say that out loud.

"Well, I appreciate you lending me your screwdriver. Some neighbour I am, huh?"

Akiza shook her head. "No, it's fine."

"Still. I'm sure I'll repay you sooner or later." Why is it that Yusei Fudo had to make her feel like a giddy teenager? Gosh, this was the worst crush at first sight that she had in all of her years of living.

**:3 :3 :3**

**Okay, so I might have lied about the word count. T_T**

**But you will be dears and review anyway, right? LOL!**


	3. Chase

**Happy holidays, everyone! ^_^**

**26 Shades of Love**

**Chapter 3: Chase**

"So…I'll see you around," Yusei smiled, his eyes staring into Akiza's; some say he was being friendly, but in her mind, she was somewhat hoping that he was flirting with her. But there was another part of her that told her that he was just being shy, and she couldn't help but agree with it. Yet she found his bashful behaviour sort of cute; he somewhat reminded her of herself…

"Yeah, of course," Akiza grinned back, mentally clearing her throat so she would not be caught ogling the gorgeous man right in front of her. It was only until she felt a nudge from behind her that she realized that Ari needed to get to school. "Oh and this is my daughter Ari. Say hi, sweetie."

If there was another thing that she noticed about Yusei, it was that he was great with kids; Akiza could tell from his posture and his facial expression that kids warmed his heart. She didn't think that he was faking it, but if it was a lie, then he did a good job of faking it.

"Hi Ari, how's it going?" Yusei grinned, his blue eyes lighting up with excitement, as he knelt down on one knee to meet Ari's curious gaze. "You look really pretty today."

Ari's expression changed from shyness to happiness, which was cute in Akiza's opinion. She noted that Ari had moved from behind her leg to standing right in front of Yusei. Akiza knew, at that moment, she was even more like her than she could ever imagine.

"Really?"

Yusei chuckled. "Of course. I bet you're really a princess, aren't you?"

Yusei certainly knew how to talk to kids… it made Akiza wonder if it was a natural ability or he might have had a family too. And somehow, the thought of her new neighbour having a wife and kids made her feel uneasy. Sure, she would feel a little let down that she thought Yusei was flirting with her if he already had people he cared about. Sure, she would have been disappointed that once again, love failed to make her happy. But what could she do about it if that was the case?

Not even at work did anyone manage to catch her eye; sure, there were guys that were more than friendly with her, but she didn't see them more than just co-workers.

"I'm an animal princess," Ari exclaimed, twirling around in her leopard tutu. "But mommy says I still have to listen to her even though I'm royalty." And sure enough, Akiza and Yusei couldn't help but laugh at Ari's adorable pout.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but she's right," Yusei shrugged his shoulders. "You should always listen to your mommy." Akiza's heartbeat fluttered as his eyes flickered toward hers for a moment or two. And she was also certain that he winked in her direction too; as a result of all of this, she could feel her insides melting into a puddle of goo. Akiza was more than certain at this point that she liked him.

**:3 :3 :3**

And then the unthinkable happened, much to Akiza's surprise. If anything, she wasn't at all angry that Ari had sprung up a dinner proposal toward Yusei; if anything, she was shocked that Ari had done it at all. It was almost if Ari knew what she was doing – trying to set their new neighbour up with her mommy.

Akiza would have blushed furiously, but she had compelled herself to calm down; she did not, nor would she ever, plan on making a fool out of herself in front of him. Yes, she wanted to impress him, but it was hard to be herself at the same time. Romance was simply too complicated, Akiza decided.

But was there really anything complicated about it? She could see the look in his blue eyes; she could tell that he admired her… Maybe this was an irrational deduction, but she felt better after making it.

"Mommy, are you in love with him?" Ari inquired, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement and curiosity.

Akiza knew that if she was drinking something, she would have spat it out and her cheeks would be painted red. Ari was never one to hesitate or hold back when she had something she wanted to talk about with her mother. She may be innocent, but there were some questions that she could not answer.

"What makes you say that?" For a six year old, she seemed to know a lot about 'love'; but maybe it's because she had taught her what it should feel like and all that jazz.

"Your face changes colour," Ari replied, shrugging her petite shoulders. "And you were staring at him when he went home."

Akiza did not like to be reminded that she was kind of looking at Yusei's butt when he left the driveway; and she did not like that her only daughter had witnessed such an act. Akiza was embarrassed enough as it was.

She sighed; she had a lot to teach Ari when she grew up. But then again, she was sort of not looking forward to the teen years. Which was one reason why she wanted Ari to stay as little as possible. The other reason was that Ari was cute and adorable, and mainly her little girl, and she would hate to see her change. But there wasn't anything that Akiza could do about it.

"Mommy, look! Your face is all red again!"

Akiza mentally shook away all thoughts pertaining to love and romance, trying to regain her previous composure. Yet it didn't help matters that Yusei was still stuck on her mind.

"I'm fine, sweetie." All Akiza had to do was concentrate on driving; fortunately for her, it wouldn't be too much longer to get to Ari's school. If anything though, Akiza had wished that Ari went to school close to where she worked, but there were no schools that fit such a wish.

"What are we gonna have for supper?"

Of course Ari would be super delighted that Yusei had accepted her little offer and deep down, Akiza was glad too. This also reminded her that she should be doing her best – even though cooking was not her strongest suit. But she could make a mean meat pie, which was Ari's favourite food any day of the week.

"I dunno, I guess we'll have to ask Mr. Fudo that, won't we?" In retrospect, Akiza probably shouldn't have gotten Ari excited about meeting him for supper that night… but really, Ari was energetic enough – whether or not Yusei, her idol, managed to put a smile on her face.

"Yeah."

**:3 :3 :3**

**Happy holidays, guys! I hope Christmas has been good to you! LOL! :D**


	4. Date

**Believe it or not, I didn't want to update this baby until Beauty and the Tragedy was finished. :3**

**But still – here's your first update in 2014! :D**

**26 Shades of Love**

**Chapter 4: Date**

Ari was proud of herself; she knew how smart she was and she knew that her mommy must have been proud of her because of that. If anything, Ari liked how she could please her; seeing her mommy happy would make her happy too. But Ari did remember times when she did see her cry: Ari hated it when her mommy was sad…

But what Ari didn't understand was why she lied to her; every time that Ari asked mommy what was wrong, she'd smile and say that she's fine. Ari wanted to believe her, but her heart told her that something was wrong.

When she dropped her off at school, it didn't escape her mind that mommy was acting strange. Maybe it was because she was in love with their new neighbour.

When she first met that nice man, she was sort of scared that he had cooties. But when he started talking to her about how pretty she was, how could Ari ever think that this man had cooties? He didn't stink at all – he was dressed pretty well, now that Ari thought about it.

She grinned, as her thoughts continued to dwell on Mr. Fudo. He was a super nice guy: he was definitely gonna be her new daddy. She figured it would have been a good time as any to invite him over for supper; not only to welcome him, but to get him in love with mommy.

Ari had no clue who her real dad was, since her mommy wouldn't tell her anything more other than the fact that he was a jerk. She figured that was a good reason to leave him. Ari never thought about this more than a few moments, before she went back to Mr. Fudo; he definitely wasn't a jerk.

"What are you up to, Ari?" Her first grade teacher, Miss Umana, inquired, peering over her student's shoulder in curiosity.

"Drawing," Ari replies cheerfully, her eyes gazing happily into Miss Umana's for a brief moment of time – before they flickered back to her creation.

"Now who would that be?" Miss Umana was smart – really smart – but she was also pretty, nice, and she never raised her voice. In Ari's eyes, she was the best teacher in the whole world; she wouldn't give to have another one like her. She was also fun; she always made sure to not make anything too boring whenever they did some schoolwork.

Ari was almost done her masterpiece. She drew her mommy and herself, and as for Yusei, all she needed to do was colour in his eyes…

"That's my new daddy," Ari squealed in delight, her eyes not straying from the piece of paper.

She took a blue crayon and lightly dabbed the white blank spots. Once she was satisfied, she put her crayons back in her pencil box and practically shoved the picture in her teacher's face.

Miss Umana's hazel eyes softened as she studied the picture as closely as possible. Ari was a cute child, but she was also clever. One could tell from the way she drew her pictures, she had something on her mind. There were three figures on the piece of paper. The two tall ones, she had to guess, were Ari's mother and Ari's 'new daddy'. Ari had drawn multiple hearts around them, looking as if the two of them were deeply in love. Both of them had smiles on their faces, while Ari's self-portrait stood beside her mother – also smiling.

"This is wonderful." Another thing that Ari liked about Miss Umana was that she told her the honest truth. Unlike other grown-ups whose voice changed whenever they said they thought she was cute or something like that, Miss Umana would sound really truthful.

"Really? Do you think mommy will like it?" Miss Umana ruffled Ari's magenta hair, giving her a goofy smile.

"I think she'll love it."

Not to mention how her mother would love that smile to go along with it.

**:3 :3 :3**

Akiza was beyond exhausted; she couldn't deal with work the way that she usually did. As much as she liked working in a nice little doctor's clinic where her co-workers were nothing but short of compassion, her concentration was vapidly decreasing. She could blame it on the fact that she was tired, but it was more or less distraction.

Namely her new neighbour who was really, really gorgeous.

Each and every time that Akiza thought about him, she thought that she was going to die; perhaps from a heart attack? Wouldn't even be surprising…

"Akiza… wakey-wakey." She felt someone's finger poking her shoulder repeatedly.

If Akiza weren't in such a tired mood, or even in a bad mood, she'd have no regrets listening to whoever it was poking her. But since she was exhausted from the earlier day's events, she was tempted to fall asleep on her desk. She was never this tired normally, which was probably why people would start fawning over her.

"Someone had a long night?"

Akiza rubbed her eyes, blinking several times, before she looked up into the inquiring gaze of Carly Atlas (the newly married, always enthusiastic, best friend of Akiza's since high school and conveniently working along with Akiza as a secretary; surprising, considering that Carly wanted to go into the field of journalism). Needless to say, Carly looked amused: probably at the expense of Akiza's appearance.

Not that she minded; it wasn't like Carly was a bully at all – she was pretty much the opposite.

"You could say that."

Carly pursed her pink lips, before she replied, "Watching reruns of Supernatural again?"

Akiza blushed in embarrassment; she wasn't one for watching much TV, yet there was one show that peaked her interest. It helped immensely that the two main characters, who were brothers hunting for the supernatural, were incredibly good-looking. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do in her life.

10:00 pm was the only time in her life that she would actually have time to relax; even if the idea of watching Supernatural didn't sound that peaceful and relaxing…

"Shut up."

"What's eating you?"

Akiza wasn't going to say anything about her crush. Nope. She wasn't planning on having Carly have this knowledge; she didn't need her to pester her about making a move. She didn't want to be teased or tormented.

Carly thought that she knew what was best, considering that she had tried and failed numerous times to set Akiza up on a date.

Akiza had a feeling that she was going to try creating an online profile for her… Akiza did not want to date anybody from online, because everyone knows how long those relationships last.

Therefore, Akiza was conflicted; should she tell Carly that she was slowly considering getting back into the dating world? Should she tell her that she met this guy, who was most likely single, and that she liked him? If she didn't tell her, Carly would keep lining up guys on her doorstep.

"Nothing horrible," Akiza shrugged her shoulders.

"I take it you met someone?"

Carly was so smart that it was almost impossible to hide things from her; even if Akiza did lie to her, Carly would pick up on that in two seconds flat. Some people.

"I did meet someone."

Carly smacked Akiza on the head, clearly not appreciating her sass. "You know what I mean, silly. Who is he? Is he hot? Does he like taking long walks at the beach?"

Carly was indeed a hopeful romantic…Akiza knew she shouldn't be saying this, but she was surprised that she found someone right after high school. How could she put up with a guy who was rude and obnoxious? Oh well; Carly could hold herself pretty well against the male species. Nothing for Akiza to worry about at all.

"Come on, tell me about him."

If only this weren't their scheduled break… if only it were in the afternoon, after lunch time, when they'd be forced back into the same old routine: scheduling appointments, showing children to their appointed doctor's office, etc. Then Akiza wouldn't have to deal with Carly's inquisitiveness.

"There isn't that much to tell," Akiza protested. "I don't even know him that well." _Yet… thanks to Ari._

"You lie!"

"He's just my neighbour and he'll be coming to my place for dinner. Happy?" So much for being subtle about it.

"Cute! So what made you ask him for a date?"

"It wasn't me, it was Ari."

"You know what this means, don't you?"

"What?"

"Ari's going to get herself a daddy and YOU a husband."

Seriously, why did Akiza even bother with life?

**:3 :3 :3**

**I liked how this chapter turned out! :3 And I hope you guys did too! LOL!**


	5. Eager

**The Man with Imagination gets props for reviewing last chapter – even when no one else would! LOL! **

**But since I love this story so much, I honestly don't care about the reviews. :3**

**26 Shades of Love**

**Chapter 5: Eager**

Ari could pretty much squeal in happiness, but everyone else knew that she was super excited about something. She didn't tell many people that she was getting a daddy (in fact, only her teacher knew), but her friends did know that Ari was even more cheerful than usual. Not to say that she wasn't usually happy, but this time around, she was more inclined to spend her time and energy at the playground.

School was done, and it left Ari to stay behind to wait for her mommy to pick her up. She was on the swings – the usual spot where her mommy would know where she was when she came for her.

Luckily for her, she didn't have to wait alone this time. Her best friend Tai chose to stay at the school with her until his mommy picked him up as well.

"Higher!" Ari demanded, her brown eyes sparkling with adrenaline as her locks of red hair danced with the wind. Tai, a six year old with brown hair and brown eyes, grunted, doing his best to meet his friend's expectations. He never quite got the under-duck, but he came close to it. For a little kid, he did seem to present himself as strong at times.

"Whee!" Ari screamed, seeing the world beneath her as she continued to soar high up in the sky.

She definitely didn't feel this excited about anything in her entire life; the idea of getting a daddy tonight was almost like Christmas. Maybe her wish was finally going to come true… but if it didn't, Ari wouldn't ever stop wishing for a daddy; it's all she ever really wanted.

"There. Now you gotta push me!" Tai sat down on the swing that was next to hers.

"Nope," Ari shook her head, her lips forming a silly grin.

Tai twitched, not liking the sound of his friend not sticking to her promise. "But you promised!"

Ari, he had to admit, was a meanie sometimes. But for the most part, she was a really nice girl. She was the only girl that liked playing with him, since the others were afraid of catching cooties. Tai had to admit that it hurt his feelings that everyone thought of him as weird… he wanted to make lots and lots of friends, but he was lucky that Ari didn't believe cooties existed.

"I'm gonna tell my mommy that you're being mean to me."

Ari giggled. "Your mommy's not scary."

Tai pouted, as he also managed to lean back into the swing, keeping up his rhythm. "She can be scary. Even more scary than the dark."

"My mommy is never scary. She loves me very much."

"What about your daddy?"

Ari paused, but only for a brief moment. Tai did know that she never had a daddy, but it didn't stop him from saying stuff like that. All Ari knew about his life with his mommy and daddy, his mommy could be so mean to him and his daddy would pretend to ignore it before he'd comfort him.

"Mommy says that he's a jerk. But I'm gonna get another one."

Tai scoffed, somewhat skeptical that Ari would say something like that. But maybe he was just jealous that she had a mom who could take good enough care of Ari by herself with plenty of love to spare.

"How do you know that this new daddy won't be a jerk?"

Ari knew that she was sensitive, and prone to crying. Tai could really be a meanie when he wanted to, but did he really mean to crush her hopes and dreams like this?

"Because I saw it in his eyes," she said simply, trying her hardest not to shed tears. Ari never liked it when people reminded her that she had no father; it only made her feel worse that whoever left her mommy and her, she felt that he never loved her. Maybe it was her fault that he left them. Maybe she had been a really bad girl and he couldn't love someone like her.

But Mr. Fudo was a really nice guy. She just knew that he would never do anything to hurt her or her mommy. If anything, he would be the best dad in her eyes.

"What?" Tai was confused, but then realized that he had just made his best friend sad. He didn't want to see her cry, but he also wanted her to know that there a lot of bad people in the world. "Don't cry, Ari."

They had long stopped swinging, merely sitting together, as the afternoon sunlight started to make its way down unto the horizon.

Ari didn't think that Tai would understand; at least he had a daddy.

"I'm not crying," Ari shook her head, but she didn't let Tai see her face.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Stop being such a baby."

"I'm gonna tell my mommy that you're being mean to me."

"Well, I'm not scared of your mommy."

They always had this type of argument, no matter what day of the week, Tai would say something, and then Ari would pretend not to be offended. They were only little kids, but it almost seemed like they had the intellectual fights like grown-ups. But at the end of the day, Tai would apologize to Ari before she would do the same thing. Then finally, all would be well between them.

**:3 :3 :3**

Akiza was glad to say that her work day was over; now, all she had to do was pick up Ari and go home to start fixing dinner. Of course she was really looking forward to the latter… Gosh, if only she could keep herself under control. The last thing that she was going to do was acting like a teenaged girl with a celebrity crush. Only that this supposed crush on Yusei could be just that…

Was she getting too ahead of herself? Akiza certainly felt that way, so maybe she should just tone things down a little.

Maybe this dinner date would turn out to be a huge disaster.

It was that kind of thinking that kind of dampened her spirits somewhat. She hadn't been on a single date for a long time and really… she had almost forgotten the knowledge of romance; that kind of information was taken out to the dumpster while she was delivered motherhood information.

Even if things didn't work out, Akiza supposed that would mean romance wasn't in the future for her. She was completely fine with raising Ari by herself; she was an independent, free woman after all. There were a lot of women like her out there that had to deal with being a single mother. Although it was the toughest challenge by far, it certainly was rewarding.

Akiza didn't think that she'd ever become a mother. With the kind of crazy life that she once had, no one definitely expected Akiza to get pregnant. The worst case scenario actually happened: her so called boyfriend, in university, did not want anything to do with the baby. Or her. He said that he wasn't ready to take on any kind of responsibility. It was that kind of attitude that made her go to her breaking point.

Needless to say, she wasn't going to expect any visits from that moron in the future. But what would be really ironic was if he actually had a wife and a couple of kids now.

"Miss Izinski?"

And maybe she should learn to start paying attention: because she seriously didn't remember ending up at the school already. Last thing that she wanted to do was to get herself in a car accident.

"Miss Umana, how are you?" She learned to put on a pretty convincing smile these days. Some of the time she never really felt like smiling, probably because happiness once again evaded her. But the only person Akiza didn't have to fake any sort of behaviour was obviously her daughter.

The two women shook hands in pleasantries, before making some small talk.

It turned out that Ari was once again a cute, adorable handful in class. Throughout the day, Miss Umana had always seen her smile and it seemed like she was excited for something. Not to mention how she kept daydreaming; but the only time she seemed to be aware of her surroundings was recess.

"You have quite the little artist."

Of course she was. Their refrigerator was neatly decorated with Ari's pictures and each and every one of them were different. Every time Ari handed her her latest creation, she didn't stop a smile from spreading on her face. That was how Ari knew she made her happy.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

And she could be quite the little runner too… If she wasn't going to spend her days drawing, she was going to spend them running.

Mother and daughter braced themselves for a bear hug, something that they always did to greet each other after a long day. From the way Ari was tightening her hold on her mommy, any bystander could pretty much guess that it looked like they haven't seen each other in a very long time. But needless to say, this was a touching moment.

"Hi, sweetie. How was your day?" Akiza's heart would soar each and every time she'd hear her only kid call her mommy.

They pulled back, looking into each other's eyes. "It was really long, Mommy. But I made you this picture." Ari pulled out a piece of paper from her waistband. She unfolded it, before giving it to her mom.

Akiza nearly choked on tears; after seeing Ari's creativity shining through another drawing, who wouldn't be crying?

"There's you, there's me and there's daddy!" Ari grinned, like she had just won a million dollars' worth of candy.

There was no doubt about it now; the man in the picture was Yusei… and she was also certain that Ari was determined to have him as a father.

**:3 :3 :3**

**I nearly cried as I wrote this chapter; a lot of fluff going on! ^_^**


End file.
